


Hide and Seek

by Remmy-AoT (Remembrance)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cute, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Hide and Seek, M/M, Small Towns, Support
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-28
Updated: 2014-02-28
Packaged: 2018-01-14 02:27:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1249342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Remembrance/pseuds/Remmy-AoT
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><span class="u">Prompt</span>: <em>Armin is probably that special kid who’s so good at hide and seek that everyone forgets about him at some point and he’s stuck in his hiding spot for ages. but Eren doesn’t give up and looks for him until he finds him.</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	Hide and Seek

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rohesia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rohesia/gifts).



> Rohesia posted an awesome prompt on Tumblr and I was eying it in the Eremin tag for so long, so I eventually went ahead and asked if I could do it. Overall, this piece sort of spiraled out of control, drifted away from the main prompt a little, oops, but sometimes the muse just goes and you gotta go with it. Anyway, please enjoy~!
> 
> * * *

“Twenty, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen… fifteen… ten, nine, eight seven six five fourthreetwo, one! Ready or not,” Eren shouted, “Here I come!”  
  
It was a small town, with a small population and a tiny elementary class to fit. There were only twenty two students enrolled in the first grade, which made it no surprise that everyone knew everyone.  
  
It was for that reason—as Eren ran around the playground—that he knew where everyone would be.  
  
Jean was under the plastic tower of the jungle gym. While his head and upper body was hidden, his legs were sticking out and were visible in plain sight. He was the first one Eren caught, as usual. No surprise there.  
  
Mikasa was laying on the asphalt, on her back. She was convinced that since she wore black, she had black hair, and black eyes, she was invisible on the matching ground. She was silent, but made a little surprised noise when Eren caught her second.  
  
Annie, as usual, was third. She never really tried.  
  
Eren caught Ymir next, but saw a blonde blur out of the corner of his eye. He quickly realised she was just a decoy for Krista to get away, but he got both of them.  
  
Reiner and Bert were easy to find, hiding behind the bushes. Bert was quite taller than most people but didn’t seem to realise it. Even though he crouched down, he was visible.  
  
Sasha and Connie were even easier: They were bickering over who found the hiding spot first. They were loud enough that Eren just tapped them on the head and kept running.  
  
He found Marco comforting a pouting Jean who was angry that he had been the first to lose first.  
  
Eren looked around the playground. He didn’t need to do a headcount to know someone was missing. He was looking for a pair of blue eyes framed with blond hair. He wasn’t too surprised, since this happened every single time. Literally, every, single, time. He turned to the rest of his friends and tilted his head. “Anybody see Armin?”  
  
Mikasa shook her head.  
  
“He’s the king of hide and seek,” Marco chuckled.  
  
“Yeah…” Jean narrowed his eyes. “I should ask for poiners.”  
  
“Pointers,” Marco corrected.  
  
“Oh.” Jean looked at him. “Pointers.”  
  
“We can leave him,” Annie said quietly. “He likes to hide. He’ll be back when the bell rings, like usual.”  
  
“Well,” Eren pouted. “I’m gonna look for him.”  
  
“I can help,” Mikasa offered.  
  
“It’s okay.” Eren grinned. “I’ll find him!”  
  
Eren looked and looked; he searched the jungle gym, he checked the swings, he scouted the bushes, he scanned the playground, and even went searching in the second building that they used for music classes.  
  
He couldn’t find him.  
  
The bell rang, signalling that lunch was over.  
  
When Eren went back to class, he waited in his seat, wiggling from side to side because he hated sitting in seats. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Armin walk into the class and take the seat next to him. “Where were you?”  
  
Armin blinked. “Hiding.”  
  
“You won,” Eren smiled.  
  
“I did?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
Armin grinned and stuck his tongue out.  
  
Eren frowned.  
  
That was how it went, and it went that way a hundred more times. Every day at lunch they played, but nobody could find Armin. It got harder after a while: Jean realised his entire body needed to be hidden, Mikasa eventually learned she wasn’t invisible if she just closed her eyes, and Annie began participating after being baited into it by Reiner. Never once did they find Armin, but Eren always tried.  
  
It was after one round that everyone began walking back to the class that Eren stood by the door.  
  
Armin was a little surprised to see him, but he smiled. “Are you waiting for me?”  
  
“Yeah.” Eren nodded. “I want to make sure you heard the bell.”  
  
And every time, Eren waited for Armin. Every time, Eren made sure Armin heard the bell. One time, he didn’t. Eren should have gone to a teacher right away like he had been taught but he started running. After running around for ten minutes, he wondered if Armin was lonely and he started running around even faster.  
  
Eren eventually paused. There were two buildings that made up their elementary school, the big one, and the separate music one. While they were technically detached from one another, there was only a thin alleyway between them, it was short, and a tall fence was on the other end.  
  
Eren stepped in and sighed. “Found you!”  
  
Armin was sitting against the fence, hugging his knees. He looked up, eyes going wide as he blinked several times. “Eren? Did I lose?”  
  
“No, you won,” Eren crouched down. “The bell rang.”  
  
Armin tilted his head, and the blond hair framing his face shifted with the movement. “It did?”  
  
“Yeah!” Eren pouted. “Lunch is over.”  
  
Armin blinked. “But I haven’t eaten anything… I’m hungry.”  
  
“I can give you some snacks,” Eren said. He stood up and offered his hand.  
  
Armin took it and let Eren help him up.  
  
As the two of them walked to class, they didn’t let go. They ended up holding hands and thinking nothing of it. The teacher (who was completely oblivious of their absence) failed to notice Armin munching on chocolate bars in the middle of the lesson. The rest of the day went along as it always did, until Eren had come home from school. He had gone off to his room to play for a bit, but came to the kitchen when he smelled food.  
  
“Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!”  
  
Carla sighed, but couldn’t help but smile as she stirred a pot. “Yes, Eren?”  
  
“I found Armin today!” Eren grinned, “We were playing hide and seek and I found him!”  
  
Carla had already talked to Armin’s dad; but, being the mother she was, she humoured him. “You did? Where was he?”  
  
“Between the portable and the school!”  
  
“Good boy,” she reached down and pinched his cheeks. “I heard he didn’t hear the bell, he missed lunch.”  
  
Eren nodded. “I gave him some of my chocolate bars and snacks.”  
  
Carla blinked. “The ones you were saving up?”  
  
Eren nodded about four times.  
  
“That’s good, it’s very important to share Eren.” Carla opened one of the drawers and grabbed a couple short candy bars. “Here, have some more.”  
  
Eren took them and instantly ran to his schoolbag, putting them in the side pocket and making sure the zipper was shut.  
  
She seemed a little surprised and continued to stir the soup. “You’re not going to eat one now?”  
  
“Well, I want to have some ready, in case Armin needs them sometime.”  
  
  
When they turned eight, hide and seek was a big deal. They were veterans of hiding and seeking. They were those who had survived the preliminary missions and graduated top of their class as the players of the elite sport. Eren was the champion seeker, and everyone feared him; likewise, Armin was the champion hider… which meant only Eren had found him before, and even then it was limited.  
  
“Anyone find Armin?” Eren looked around, only seeing shaking heads.  
  
They were at Krista’s house, which was the biggest house in their neighbourhood. Being the small town they were, all the parents felt comfortable just dropping off their kids at the mansion and driving off.  
  
“Hmm,” Eren thought long and hard. He patted his pockets; he felt the outline of a pack of skittles and went looking. He checked every nook and cranny in the house, even checking rooms they weren’t supposed to go in, before he slapped his forehead. Of course, the library. He went there instead, instantly assaulted by the smell of musty old tomes. He made a ‘blech’ noise before searching. It wasn’t a surprise when he found Armin in a little corner, hunched over as he flipped the pages of a picture book.  
  
“What’s that?”  
  
Armin blinked and looked up. “You found me.”  
  
“Of course!” Eren reached in his pocket and pulled out the candy. He took a seat next to Armin and offered it.  
  
Armin grinned and took it. “Thanks… Everyone else gives up when they can't find me.”  
  
“Well I’m your best friend,” Eren stated, “That means I’m never gonna give up on you, never ever.”  
  
  
Most kids grew out of hide and seek by the time they were twelve. Only babies played that game. So they called it “Competitive Hide and Seek”, which was the term Annie coined sarcastically—but none of them had much of a handle on sarcasm to understand she was kidding.  
  
Mikasa’s hand grabbed Eren’s shoulder. He screamed, and she smiled. “Found you.”  
  
Eren shuddered and stared up at her. “You’re too good at seeking, now.”  
  
Mikasa let her lips curve into a wry smile. “There’s only Armin left now, not that that’s a surprise.”  
  
Eren chuckled, shaking his head. “Yeah, time to look for blondie.”  
  
They were at a public park, which is where they spent most of their Saturdays. There were tons of trees to climb, tons of flowers to pick, just endless plains of nature for the twelve of them to play around in.  
  
“Krista, darling,” an older lady called out, “Let’s go home now. It’s getting late.”  
  
Soon after that, their parents came one after another to pick them up and make sure they didn’t stay too long. If it was up to them, they’d stay until they passed out on the grass and caught the cold. Still, the two of them kept looking.  
  
“Eren,” Mikasa muttered. “My parents are here. I should go.”  
  
Eren frowned. “But we haven’t found Armin yet.”  
  
“Sorry, but my grandparents are coming over tonight,” Mikasa dipped her head in apology. “I’m sorry.”  
  
Eren sighed and eventually smiled. “Okay, okay. You go, I’ll find him, alright?”  
  
“Right,” Mikasa nodded before turning around.  
  
Eren resumed his search on his own. He went through the patch of trees they called ‘the woods’. It wasn’t big enough to be a forest, but it was the closest thing they had in their smallest little town. He almost tripped over some vines and roots, but he eventually saw a tree with a big hollow at it’s base, and a flash of something yellow. “Armin!” He ran over and looked down.  
  
Underneath the tree, Armin had found a small little spot. He was hugging his knees, as he always did, and gave a teasing little pout. “You found me again. I don’t know if I’m getting worse or you’re getting better.”  
  
“Oh I’m getting better!” Eren offered his hand, “Come on, everyone else is gone.”  
  
Armin took the hand and let Eren guide him out. Like when they were young, he didn’t let go of Eren’s hand, and he silently prayed that Eren wouldn’t let go of his. As the two of them walked towards the entrance of their park, neither of their parents said anything when they appeared together, holding hands.  
  
  
“I’m bored,” Annie muttered.  
  
They were seventeen now.  
  
It was the same park. The city had installed a couple benches, one of which Annie was lying on, staring at the blue sky. “We should do something.”  
  
“Oh!” Krista jumped up and down. “You know what we haven’t played in a really long time?” She paused for dramatic effect before chuckling. “We could play…” insert drumroll, “Hide and seek!”  
  
Annie blinked. “Really?”  
  
Eren groaned. He was on the grass, lying next to Armin, arms brushing against one another. “I just worked an eight hour shift, making coffee after coffee, I burned my hands twice each… I just want to curl up and not play any games.”  
  
“Okay,” Sasha snickered, “Then you can seek!”  
  
“Wait,” Eren blinked, “What? Why?”  
  
“Start counting,” Mikasa said before she began running.  
  
“Wait!” Eren shouted.  
  
Armin got to his feet as well and bolted in the other direction.  
  
“Geez…” Eren got up. “Can you believe them Annie?” He looked over his shoulder. “Annie?” He frowned. “Even her, huh? Well, fine… for old time’s sake.” He covered his eyes. “Twenty, seventeen, ten, nine, eight, five, four, I’m coming you better fucking run!”  
  
It didn’t matter that it had been years since they played; the results were the same. Jean was the first to be found—although Eren admitted that it was a good hiding spot, climbing high on a tree, but falling out of it while Eren walked by was a sure way to get caught.  
  
He had almost missed Marco who was crouching behind a bush.  
  
He had to smack Sasha and Connie, reminding them that hide and seek was not hide and sex, but he wasn’t too surprised by it.  
  
He had to do the same thing for Ymir and Krista, that was a little surprising, but he didn’t voice his reaction to it.  
  
Bert and Reiner had the great idea of going to the coffee shop across the street and ordering hot chocolate; he wouldn’t have found them if his co-worker, Levi, a short grumpy man, hadn’t text him saying that his gay friends were having a date.  
  
Annie was tougher to find, since she had been following Eren, always on the move. It wasn’t until she bumped into Mikasa doing the same thing that they both scared the shit out of each other, screamed and he caught them both.  
  
They had all gathered at the park again: Jean, Marco, Sasha, Connie, Krista, Ymir, Annie, Mikasa, Reiner, Berthold, and two hot chocolates—“Where’s Armin?” Eren said with a chuckle.  
  
Mikasa smiled, nostalgia returning. “We could call him… We have cellphones now.”  
  
Sasha pulled out her phone to do so, but–  
  
“No.” Eren raised a hand. “I’ll find him.”  
  
Everyone looked at him, not in the least surprised.  
  
Annie sighed. “Fine. It’s a stupid game anyway.”  
  
Ymir smirked. “Are you ever going to stop pretending you hate the game?”  
  
“No,” Annie said with the faintest of smiles. “But if you’re going to find Armin, you should go now. It’s getting dark.”  
  
“Yeah,” Jean nodded. “Go find your boyfriend.”  
  
Eren’s eyes went wide, “Wh-What?” His cheeks reddened and he took about twenty steps away from them all. “Sh-Shut up!”  
  
He looked everywhere. It brought back memory after memory, except this time he was searching their entire town. It took him two hours until he made his way under the old grey bridge. He had already checked the place three times, but he knew if there was one place it would be there. Armin had been going there a lot, so he just knew it had to be it.  
  
He eventually groaned so loud he could hear his echo. “Aaaaaaaaarmiiiiiiiiiiin!” The echo repeated his cry for help and Eren was a little ashamed of how desperate he sounded.  
  
“Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?”  
  
Eren turned around, shifting left and right, feet crunching the pebbles beneath him. “I’ll find you!”  
  
“Okay!”  
  
Eren frowned and looked to one of the pillars. He walked over to it and looked behind it. “You fucker.”  
  
Armin just smiled. He was curled up in a little ball. “I was wondering if you were going to come find me.”  
  
“Of course,” Eren smiled. “I told you, never gonna give up on you.”  
  
Armin stood up and slipped his arms around Eren’s waist, pressing his head against the brunet’s shoulder. “Okay.”  
  
Eren blinked. He was surprised by the embrace, but he hugged back. “You idiot… You can’t just wait for me all the time.”  
  
“But I want to…” He pouted. “So… did you…?”  
  
“Did I?” Eren tilted his head.  
  
“Did you bring any chocolate or candy or anything?”  
  
“Armin, I’m going to throw you in the fucking river.”  
  
Armin snickered. “Well, did you?”  
  
“Yeah, yeah…” Eren reached into his pocket. “I stopped by the gas station since I thought you might be hiding there. Here.”  
  
  
They never played hide and seek again. It wasn’t that they avoided it, they just didn’t have time. With school and jobs, the twelve of them rarely had time to hang out all together as the years went by. They still did, but not as often. It was convenient that they had eleven other people to text at any time of the day, though. Armin and Eren shared the common interest in sciences—Eren went into physics, Armin went into chemistry—so they went to the same university, which so happened to be the only university in the area.  
  
They rented a small apartment together, where at least one of their friends crashed once every three days.  
  
Things were going alright.  
  
Eren walked into the school and shivered. He was dripping wet and had a scowl on his face. He felt like eradicating an entire life form, but he didn’t have anything to choose from. So, he went on with his day. It was a small university, only a couple buildings, and his classes were easy to find. That being said, he was a little surprised to hear his name when he turned the corner.  
  
“Just don’t let Jaeger find out, please! Seriously, man!”  
  
“It’s been four hours, Jean. Four. Hours!”  
  
Eren tilted his head.  
  
“I’m going to be a dead man,” Jean grabbed his head. “Eren’s going to kill me.”  
  
“Well,” Marco frowned, “Maybe you deserve it.”  
  
“Hey,” Eren said, making both of them jump.  
  
Marco turned to him. Skipping the pleasantries, he sighed. “We can’t find Armin. Annie and Ymir are out there looking, Bert and Reiner are at your place in case he comes home—I gave them your spare key, I hope you don’t mind, I know I should have asked but I didn’t have any time!”  
  
Eren blinked about four times. “Sorry. Wait, what? Slow down.”  
  
Jean rubbed the back of his head. “Armin’s missing—learn to check your phone, Jaeger.”  
  
Eren patted his pocket, feeling the outline of his phone. He pulled it out and realised it was on silent. Many messages, many missed calls. “Okay, what the fuck happened? Just break it down for me.”  
  
Jean whined, not-so-silently begging Marco.  
  
Marco frowned at him and looked at Eren. “Jean and Connie accidentally found a couple… well, pictures. Of Armin.” He coughed. “Nudes… And they kind of teased him about it, and he freaked out, and he just got up and bolted out of here. Nobody’s seen him since.”  
  
Eren blinked. “What? Nudes?” He frowned. “How?”  
  
Marco rubbed his neck. “Well, um… Armin sort of, sent them to me…”  
  
Eren’s frown turned to a scowl. “And you showed them!?”  
  
“No!” Marco said quickly. “No…”  
  
Jean sighed. “Look, it was an accident, nobody meant any harm. I grabbed Marco’s phone and started snooping around, and I never expected to find anything, especially not nudes, of guys.”  
  
Eren took a deep breath. He knew Armin was in trouble. As much as he wanted to scream, he did his best to keep his cool. He wiggled his toes inside his boots and glared at Jean. “So, what happened when you found them?”  
  
“Well, at first Connie and I were just surprised,” Jean admitted. “And… I complimented him.”  
  
Marco whapped the back of Jean’s head. “You called him a slut!”  
  
Jean grabbed the back of his head and pouted. “I called him an adorable slut. Not a slut, just a little slut.”  
  
Eren’s right hand turned into a fist and before he knew what happened, he punched Jean in the face—the sound of something cracking (hopefully Jean’s nose) was sickening as he watched the horseface fall to the floor.  
  
“Ow!”  
  
Marco took a deep breath. “Look, Eren! Jean was kidding, but Armin freaked out. I don’t think he knows it’s a joke… you know how Armin is. Ah, f-f-frick!” Marco grabbed his head. “This is all my fault!”  
  
“No it’s not!” Jean winced as he got up. “You had it in a password protected folder, I’m the guy that went snooping.”  
  
“Oh shit,” Marco gasped. “You’re bleeding, let me get you to the office and we can–”  
  
“Shut up!” Eren shouted. “Look, I don’t care about any of that shit. I need to know what’s going on. Did anybody else see the pictures?”  
  
“No,” Marco said.  
  
“Well,” Jean winced, “I think Ymir caught a glimpse but she looked away; you know, lesbian and all.”  
  
“Okay,” Eren took a deep breath. “I have to find him.”  
  
Marco nodded. “We’ve been looking. Annie and Ymir are driving out there, Bert and Reiner are at your place, Mikasa’s at the library, Connie… Well, I sent Connie home because I don’t think Armin would react well to seeing him, but you have no idea how bad he feels. Krista wanted to come help, but she’s got a bad case of the flu, and Sasha’s got a bad cold, she can’t walk around in the rain or she’ll faint.”  
  
Eren’s eyes widened. “Oh fuck… I forgot it’s practically pouring out there. He’ll catch something, if he doesn’t get hypothermia or some shit like that.”  
  
Jean frowned. “The sun’s going down… it was supposed to drop into the negatives tonight.”  
  
“Fuck!” Eren shouted. “Fuck! Okay, okay, I’ll find him! I’ll find him!”  
  
“Wait,” Marco stepped forward, “Where are you going to go?”  
  
“I don’t know!” Eren looked at Marco and his eyes fell over the fluffy jacket. “Give me your coat, he’s going to be freezing out there.”  
  
“O-Oh,” Marco felt the jacket practically ripped off of him, “Okay!”  
  
  
It might not have been rational, but the first place Eren stopped was the coffee shop. He slammed his hands on the counter. “Levi! I need an extra large steamed milk, extra hot, with sugar!”  
  
Levi sneered at him. “Why me?”  
  
“You’re the fastest!” Eren smacked the counter, “Come on!”  
  
“Fine.” Levi got to it.  
  
Eren sighed out of relief. He knew Levi wasn’t usually this agreeable.  
  
“Some kind of emergency?” Levi asked as he heated the milk, moving his head away to avoid the steam. “Your boyfriend in trouble or something?”  
  
“Just hurry,” Eren snapped.  
  
“Hanji,” Erwin’s voice was smooth and calm. “Do we have any sandwiches left?”  
  
Hanji put her phone away and glanced. “Nope. We got a cookie, though.”  
  
Erwin nodded. “Give Eren one of the cookies.”  
  
Eren seemed a little surprised, but he dipped his head in thanks. “Take it out of my paycheck.”  
  
“It’s fine,” Erwin shrugged, “Go.”  
  
“Here,” Levi placed the drink down, putting two sleeves on the drink.  
  
  
The cup burned his hand. It wouldn’t have been a problem, but he was running around the city like a madman; he had spent twenty minutes, looking everywhere he could. He checked the bridge, he checked the park, he checked every library in the city, but nothing. It was when his phone went off that he cursed. He adjusted Marco’s jacket onto his arm and held the small plastic bag the cookie was in and the steamed milk in the same hand. He grabbed his phone and flipped it open. “What the fuck do you want?”  
  
 _“Eren…”_  
  
“M-Mom!” He shrieked. “Sorry!”  
  
 _“Eren, what’s wrong?”_  
  
“I can’t find Armin!” Eren’s voice cracked. “He’s out here in the cold, he’ll freeze to death, mom!”  
  
 _“Is he missing!?”_  
  
“Uh, um, sort of? He ran away!”  
  
 _“So… he’s hiding?”_  
  
Eren frowned, “Sort of!?”  
  
 _“Have you checked the school?”_  
  
“What?”  
  
 _“The elementary school. That’s where you found him, playing hide and seek. Between the portable and the main building.”_  
  
Eren took a deep breath and felt his knees shake. His eyes began to water. “That’s it! I fucking love you, mom!”  
  
 _“Watch your language!”_  
  
“Yes ma’am!”  
  
 _“Don’t call me ma’am! It makes me feel old!”_  
  
“I don’t have time for this!” Eren shouted, “I’m sorry.”  
  
 _“Go.”_  
  
“Thanks, bye, love you.” He hung up and began running.  
  
  
It took another fifteen minutes—fifteen minutes he couldn’t spare. Armin was in the small alleyway between the two buildings, hugging his knees, tears freezing to the point where they burned on his cheeks, his back against the metal fence. He was looking down at his shoes when he saw a Styrofoam cup held out in front of him, steam rising from the small hole on the lid. He carefully reached out and grabbed the cup. “What is it?”  
  
“Steamed milk.”  
  
Armin blinked, looking up. That voice. “Eren?”  
  
Eren smiled, “I know you hate coffee… but I figured this could warm you.” He put Marco’s jacket around the blond and crouched down.  
  
Armin looked at the cup, feeling the warmth move into his numb fingers. He sneezed, making sure to look away as he did.  
  
“Here, a cookie, it’s all I could get. It’s chocolate chip, does that count?”  
  
Armin took it tentatively, then examined it.  
  
“I should text everyone,” Eren spoke as he pulled out his phone, “Let them know you’re okay.”  
  
“So… everyone knows?” Armin asked.  
  
“No,” Eren whispered. “They just know you’re missing, they don’t know the whole story.”  
  
“Oh.” Armin looked up again. “But, you know? So… Eren… am I slut to you?”  
  
Eren finished the text and put his phone away. “You’re such a dork, of course not.” He cupped Armin’s face with both hands before smooching his cheek. “Shit, you’re so cold, drink up.”  
  
Armin slowly brought the cup to his mouth. He sucked in the steam and his whole body shivered as he was reminded what warmth was. “You’re not… ashamed of me? Or disgusted?”  
  
“Armin…” Eren’s eyes softened. “Of course not.”  
  
“Slut,” he repeated.  
  
“No you’re not… Jean was kidding, he’s a fucking idiot.” His phone chimed and vibrated, but he ignored it. “Total idiot.”  
  
“I hate idiots,” Armin whispered.  
  
“No you don’t,” Eren corrected.  
  
“Yes I do.”  
  
“You don’t hate me.”  
  
Armin chuckled very quietly. He took a sip and closed his eyes, then shook his head. “No… I couldn’t hate you. You… never gave up on me, huh?”  
  
“Of course not, you stupid-face.”  
  
Armin smiled, but the smile was strained and soon it faded. “You’re not… angry, that I sent nudes to a guy?”  
  
Eren blinked. “No. Well, I’m a little jealous, but not angry…” A small silence passed before he tilted his head. “So, you and Marco…?”  
  
“No,” Armin shook his head. “It’s not romantic, or anything… it’s just a bit of fun.”  
  
“Have you done anything else?”  
  
Armin looked up and blinked. “N-No… well, a little… You’re not… upset, or disgusted?”  
  
“No.”  
  
“You don’t mind, me… being, you know… gay?”  
  
“Armin, you fucking idiot…” Eren grabbed his cheeks again and brought their lips together.  
  
Armin’s eyes went wide but they slowly closed. Eren’s lips were so warm and he felt his heart pound in his chest. When the kiss was over, he blinked about seven times. “What?”  
  
“Fuck,” Eren whispered, “Your lips are so cold. Drink up, please.”  
  
Armin gave a little nod and sipped. He paused and looked at Eren. “What is this? It’s good.”  
  
“It’s just hot milk and sugar,” Eren chuckled. “I got you a cookie too.”  
  
Armin looked at his other hand. “Oh, right.” He took a small bite and nibbled on it. After chewing, and swallowing, he looked at the ground. “I don’t want to face them…”  
  
“Connie feels really bad,” Eren explained, “Jean too… I punched him in the face.”  
  
“Good.”  
  
Eren snorted.  
  
Armin smiled softly. “I’m, not…”  
  
“No, he doesn’t think that. He meant it as a joke, he didn’t want to upset you.”  
  
“Really?”  
  
“I wouldn’t lie to you.”  
  
Armin kept drinking until there was nothing else. He felt warmth in his stomach and it slowly branched outwards to the rest of his body. He was about to take another bite of the cookie when he glanced at the jacket. “Is this Marco’s?”  
  
“Yeah, he–” He was cut off by the sound of his phone going off. He grabbed it and put it to his ear. “Hey.”  
  
 _“Hey!”_  
  
“Hey Reiner,” Eren smiled. “What’s up?”  
  
 _“We figured he was freezing, so Bert and I made hot chocolate at your place, whenever you get here. He is coming home soon, right?”_  
  
“Yeah. Thanks…” Eren closed his eyes. “Sorry, we’re probably keeping you guys, aren’t we?”  
  
 _“No man. Don’t even start that. You know we’re here to help you out. You take care of your boyfriend, alright?”_  
  
“H-Hey!” Before Eren could think of a witty comeback, the line went dead and he sighed. He put his phone back in his pocket and looked at Armin. “Reiner and Bert made hot cocoa for us.”  
  
“They did?” Armin tilted his head.  
  
“Yeah, they were at our place, in case you came back home.” He stood up and offered his hand.  
  
Armin took it, legs shaking. He pressed himself against Eren, slipping his arms around the brunet. He closed his eyes, feeling the incredible warmth. “Thank you… for never giving up on me.”  
  
“Never ever,” Eren whispered.  
  
  
When they got back home, Armin had the sniffles. Eren sat him down on the couch and covered him in blankets and poured the hot chocolate. Armin made a face and sipped it.  
  
“So…” Eren asked slowly, “How is it?”  
  
“It’s um…” Armin tried to smile, “It’s…”  
  
“I’m going to throw it out,” Eren decided.  
  
“Please,” Armin chuckled as he offered his cup.  
  
Eren took it and walked over to the sink and poured down the whole batch, making a mental reminder that they needed more milk. “Anything else I can get you? I could make tea… I think we have tea… I don’t know how to make tea, though.”  
  
Armin smiled and shook his head. “I’m okay… just, come here, please?”  
  
Eren walked back over and took a seat next to the blond. He wrapped his arms around his best friend and nuzzled his head.  
  
“You shouldn’t get too close…” Armin whispered, “You’re going to catch a cold if you do.”  
  
“Well, too bad.” Eren smiled. “I want to be close to you right now, okay? I was… really,” he sighed, “I was really scared.”  
  
“I’m sorry,” Armin looked down. “I worried everyone because of a misunderstanding…”  
  
“No, it’s not your fault. Jean should know better to joke about that kind of stuff, especially with you.” Eren shrugged. “We all make mistakes, right?”  
  
“Right…” Armin turned his head, looking at Eren with a soft smile. “Um… I know it’s, kind of selfish… especially since I’m sick but… could you… kiss me, again?”  
  
Eren grinned before leaning in. His heart fluttered and eyes closed; he pressed their lips together.  
  
Armin swore he could melt. The kiss was over before it began and he almost whined, almost. “Eren…”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“Thank you… for not giving up on me.”  
  
“How many times do I have to tell you, you big fucking dork? Don’t worry. I never will.”  
  
“Never… ever?”  
  
Eren kissed his nose. “Never ever.”


End file.
